NEWARK -- The Devils made a minor transaction Wednesday night trading one minor league defenseman for another with the Minnesota Wild.

Michael Kapla was sent to Minnesota in exchange for Ryan Murphy, a 25-year-old Ontario native with 174 NHL games under his belt. Kapla, who the Devils signed out of UMass-Lowell as an undrafted free agent in 2016, reported to the Iowa Wild while Murphy reported to Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

Pucks are lined up for autographs during the New Jersey Devils media day at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Thursday, September 13, 2018.(Photo11: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey)

Murphy was the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. His best season came in 2013-14 when he had 12 points in 48 NHL games with Carolina. He bounced back and forth between Carolina and Charlotte of the AHL until being traded to the Calgary Flames, along with current Binghamton goalie Eddie Lack, and being placed on unconditional waivers. One day after the Flames bought out the remainder of his contract, he signed a two-way deal with Minnesota before the 2017-18 season. Murphy has suited up in two NHL games this season.

The move gives the Devils some blue line depth in the minor leagues. Currently, New Jersey is down two defensemen with Ben Lovejoy on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and Sami Vatanen out indefinitely with a concussion. Egor Yakovlev, Mirco Mueller and Steven Santini have all been healthy scratches at different points in the season but all three will be pressed into service this week with two defensemen unable to play.

The Devils also have Eric Gryba in Binghamton with NHL experience. The 30-year-old veteran has played in two games for New Jersey this season.